A highly-rated youngster who's future has been secured until 2012
Ninis broke records as soon as he appeared on the Greek football scene in the 2006/07 season. He made his debut at 16 and was the second-youngest player ever to do so. He turned down an approach to play for Albania, the country of his birth, and instead chose to represent Greece. In that first year he was compared to Lionel Messi, a speedy little winger who could beat defenders, and assist and score goals at will.
The problems started in 2007/08, when a series of injuries hampered the youngster’s development, and then-coach Jose Peseiro dropped him from the squad to allow him to recover.
A spell on the sidelines had made Ninis hungry, and when Ten Cate watched him train after taking over in summer 2008, he had no hesitation: he restored Ninis to the first-team squad and appointed him one of the club captains, at 18 years and 125 days, the youngest in the history of the club.
By then he had made his Greece debut, in May 2008, scoring against Cyprus to become, at 18 years and 46 days, the youngest scorer in the history of the national team.
There are fears that he has lost the explosive burst of speed that was so impressive when he first emerged, and his changing physique have left him bulkier and not as nimble. He remains a great young talent and though Ten Cate remains a huge fan, talk that Ninis is the ‘Miracle-Boy’ he was once called has quietened down. He signed a four-year deal with the club in September 2008 and his buy-out clause is €15m.
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